How do I get her to nap in her crib?

Tanya - posted on 05/30/2010

I have found that if there is to much activity in the house can cause my daughter not to take a nap for more than a half hour at a time . But I have been able to get her to sleep longer by doing what I do for a night. Pretty much everything except the bath. I swaddle her up. rock her to sleep. and turn her music on when I lay her down for a nap. Plus she has her same things in her crib. Including the kitten who likes to sleep at the foot of the crib. (I haven't had any problems with the kitten laying on her chest. Her kitten will stay either at the foot of the crib or the head of the crib)

Leah - posted on 05/28/2010

I let my Maegan cry it out. She learned how to soothe herself and now it is great. When it;s time for a nap I just put her down and she will go straight to sleep or play a little making cute noises until she falls asleep. I know it is hard but letting her cry it out really works.

Cyndi - posted on 05/28/2010

My oldest DD (Now 3) was very difficult to transition from nursing/rocking to being put down in the crib. Once I finally decided to just nurse her to sleep while laying down on our big bed, then slipping away once she fell asleep, we were both much happier. At this stage, they are learning that they are separate from mom, and that is a bit scary. Oh, and my 3 year old sleeps just fine now, even though she was nursed or rocked to sleep for the first 2-2.5 years. She is able to fall asleep on her own. It's a developmental milestone that they have to be ready for, just like crawling or walking. :-)

Vicky - posted on 05/27/2010

Aiden refused to sleep on his own for months! Only in my arms which was so exhausting for me. I bought the Sleep Easy Solution DVD and wow what a change. He now sleeps all night in his cot and has two naps (1hr am and 2hrs pm) in his cot. I would totally recommend this method. Please note it takes about 3-7 days to get babies to 'follow' the method and you have to be OK with letting them cry for a few minutes (31min on the first night for us then, 2, then 1, now none).

Jennifer - posted on 05/27/2010

my daughter of 7 months has most of the time either napped in her crib or alone on the bed.. at first i would let her cry for about 5 to 8 minutes and then i would give her the pacifier and she would just close her eyes and go straight to sleep.. now i have no problems of doing it.. i think you should just let her cry..

even if it hurts or get you frustrated..

Sandra - posted on 05/27/2010

Yes I am going through the same thing and I am starting to nap her in my bed. The benefits to doing this successfully is you can sleep them anywhere in anybody's bed when you are traveling and visiting with friends or family. This is very convenient. The goal here is they need the rest, and so we need the break too. ~

Patricia - posted on 05/27/2010

This is going to sound bad, but there was one afternoon around noon where I just needed a couple of minutes. I had fed her and changed her diaper, I placed her in her crib, I let her make all the noise she wanted, if she cried, I would go in to comfort her. (They say you aren't supposed to let a baby cry for longer than 20 min during nap time and if so, start the routine over or begin again the following day). And she got quieter and quieter, and she fell asleep. Do you know her sleeping cues? Like when she gets quiet while playing or staring, then the obvious rubbing her eyes, and yawning. I wish you the best of luck. Hang in there!

Maria - posted on 05/26/2010

my son wasnt doin this until about 2 weeks ago.. a hugh pain! i just waited untill he was really tired and put him down with 3oz of milk and gave him his dummie and left him for 5 mins if he was still crying after this i went back threw gave him his dummie a kiss n stroked his head left for a further 5 mins and kept doing this now he knows he sleeps in his bed! he doesmty always need milk but if he is fighting it after 15 mins i will make some for him.

Sandra - posted on 05/20/2010

I just wanted you to know that I am going through the same thing!!!!!

My daughter used to be a TERRIBLE napper who would power nap 3-4 times a day 5-10 mins at a time NEVER in her crib ALWAYS in my arms.

Now she naps GREAT but...ONLY in my bed...I gave up trying to get her in the crib I just bring my laptop in the bed and once she is asleep, I play on the computer until she wakes up...which is anywhere from 45mins-2.5hours.

If you figure out how to fix this problem, PLEASE let me know! :)

good luck!

Pamela - posted on 05/19/2010

I have twin girls born on the 29th....we started naps in their cribs a few months ago. I think it was mainly routine and consistency that helped.
I lay them down with their blankets, our baby monitor plays music, so turn that on low. I might have to go back once or twice for one of them (find their soothers and cover them back up) but normally there are both sleeping in about 10 min. Theirs naps last about 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hours. They have a morning and afternoon nap - and sometimes a 10-20 min cat nap in the evening.
I found that if i picked them up when fussing, I would just stand by their cribs, hugs them, and lay them back down. My one daughter would fall asleep just having me move about the room, if I left she got upset.

Good luck

Ashly - posted on 05/18/2010

My daughter does the same thing. she is 7 months old and she will sleep fine at night in her crib but not during the day. I think its partly because around this age they are too excited about everything that is going on that they refuse to sleep and they know that the crib means night night time. lol So the thing that i have found that worked for her is we have her pack and play in the living room and when its time for a nap, she is put in that and i put a big blanket around the outside of it and cover most of the top with it. That way she can still hear us and not feel so much like she is being put somewhere secluded but also cant see us because of the blanket and she falls asleep on her own time. I think that its kind of a halfway for her, she knows that she needs a nap but she also isnt being completely secluded. I hope this helps

Katie - posted on 05/18/2010

I have to let my 7m/o sleep in her pram sometimes when she refuses to sleep in her crib.
sometimes let her cry to sleep in crib.
sometimes just wont sleep in either!

Alicia - posted on 05/17/2010

We ran into this with our first son (now almost 3 years old). He slept great at night, but was not a good napper. Our pediatrician said to just be consistent and do the same routine at nap time as we were doing at night time (story, song, whatever). We played lullaby music in his room at night so we started doing that for naptime too. It took a while, but he eventually got it. I think he was maybe 10 months or so when he finally became a good napper. Had to let him just cry sometimes. Oh, and he had gotten used to sometimes sleeping in the car, so we had to break that habit. We made sure we were always home and he was in his crib at naptime and that consistency seemed to help (eventually). Same thing with my now 7 month old. Good luck!

Melissa - posted on 05/16/2010

My 7 month old daughter is also the same way. She sleeps through the night fine in her crib but wants to be held for her naps. As soon as I try to lay her down she wakes up. Just like Paige, I would like to know if you find anything that works. I wonder if it's a girl thing, my son had no issues napping in his crib. Good Luck, it can get frustrating at times.

Paige - posted on 05/16/2010

Ya know, my 7 month old daughter is the same way! Put her in her crib to nap and she will only nap for 15-20 minutes, we lay her down in our bed and she will sleep anywheres from and hour and a half to 3 hours! She loves Mommy and Daddy's bed!

I would also like to know anything that worked for you guys!